A zoo manager was seen putting gloves onto the tourists at the photoshoot

Siberian tigers have been facing unrelenting pressures from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss, driving them to the brink of extinction

A staff member confirmed the incident, according to The Paper. The park has now suspended the activity due to the colder weather.

They insisted that taking photos with the tiger would not harm the animal.

The zoo is under investigation by the provincial forestry bureau following the incident, according to the report.

The big rare cats have been facing unrelenting pressures from poaching, retaliatory killings and habitat loss, driving them to the brink of extinction, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

They are known to reach up to 20 years of age in the wild and range across Siberia in Russia and in China’s north-east region.